Somber
by xwallfl0wer
Summary: Growing up in a rural area, Piper's life has always been different. When she moves to the city, she can't help but think that things will change for the worst. Entering a new school midway into the first semester, she manages to experience some major conflict and lots of first crushes. / WARNING: The rating may or may not change from a T to an M later on.
1. the approach

"First day of school. Terrific." I stared at myself in the mirror once again. "Wearing overalls to school on your first day won't be that bad, right?" My eyes had suddenly hovered over to my hair, then my entire face. "Ugh, who am I kidding? Everyone's going to laugh at me."

Suddenly, I heard my mom shouting from downstairs. "Piper! The bus is coming!" Isn't this exciting? It's time to enjoy the 7 dreadful hours of school. "I'll be right down!"

I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. "Ugh, screw this. Who do I even need to impress? No one, exactly." I grabbed my backpack, slipped on some sandals, then headed downstairs towards the door. Once I had gotten on the bus, let me tell you, it was not at all thrilling. Luckily, there was one empty seat left. I had taken my seat and this was not at all like in the movies. The sun wasn't up, teenagers weren't throwing paper balls at each other or anything like that... everyone was practically asleep. I was safe. I had nothing to worry about.

* * *

"Hey, uh, can I sit next to you?"  
I looked up to see who it was. It was a boy with dirty blonde hair who appeared to be pretty tall. "Um, sure." The boy had taken a seat next to me, making me feel a bit uncomfortable since there wasn't much space left-considering the fact that my backpack was huge and was laid next to me beside the window.

The bus had finally arrived at the school and the sky was still quite dark and gloomy. I turned to see why the boy hadn't gotten up yet, only to realize that he had fallen asleep. I tapped on his shoulder at an attempt to trying to wake him up. "Oh, sorry," he had told me. "Don't worry about it." I looked into his eyes, they were a beautiful shade of blue. His eyes suddenly gazed over to my face, looking at me up and down, making me feel even more nervous than I already should. "You're new, aren't you?" he asked. "Yeah, is it obvious?" "A little. Nice overalls." I slightly raised my right eyebrow, finding it hard to believe that his compliment was sincere.

* * *

When I could finally get off the bus, I went straight to the front office since that was where schedules could be found. When I finally received my schedule, I skimmed through it. "Chemistry? Algebra II? The heck?" I looked around, seeing people chatting it up with their friends, heading to their classes, and then there's me... lost and had no clue to where my first period was located. I spotted a brunette not too far from where I was standing, so I sped over to her. "Hey, uh-do you know where room 108 is?" She turned around to look at me. The girl was wearing light blue skinny jeans, a pair of ankle boots, had glasses, and wavy hair that complimented her flannel. "You seem to be in luck. I have that class right now, too. Come on, I'll walk with you." I nodded, gave her a smile, and away we went.

The walk to class was extremely awkward. There wasn't any small talk, no overused questions for the new girl... When we reached the door, she turned and told me, "You can sit wherever you want. There's no seating arrangement." I nodded and took a random seat.

At one point in class, I heard snoring from behind me. "What the-" I thought to myself. I slightly turned around to see the same blonde from earlier this morning. The snoring stopped and he raised up his head, squinting his eyes and staring at me. "Um, hi?" I faced forward once those two words had come out of his mouth. He must have thought I was a creep for staring at him while he was sleeping. He leaned forward and whispered into my ear, "You're the girl from earlier this morning, am I correct? I hope I am because you're pretty much the first person to wear overalls to our school." I awkwardly smiled and nodded. "I'm Austin," he whispered. "And I'm Piper. It's nice to meet you." "Hey, uh, you wanna have lunch with me?" "Sure." Well, I can guarantee one thing that won't be happening today; eating alone at lunch on the first day of school.

* * *

Lunch didn't start until 12:19 and my stomach had practically been growling all day since I skipped breakfast. I hesitated to open the double doors to the cafeteria. I took a deep breath and entered, in search of Austin. "Hey, Piper! Over here!" I turned and saw Austin, gesturing for me to come over. I went over there and took a seat next to Austin. "Piper, meet Peyton, Olivia, and Sarah." "Oh, hey, I didn't know you were friends with Austin," I had said to Sarah, seeing that she was the girl who had walked me to class earlier in the day. "Yep, I know, shocker." Sarah let out a small laugh and continued eating her food. I had observed all 3 of them. Peyton, an awkward brunette with a charming smile. Olivia, a gorgeously sweet blonde. And Sarah, who was a bit quirky, and had quite the tough exterior. I began to think to myself, "How did all 4 of these people manage to befriend each other?" I snapped out of it once Austin asked me if I was going to eat anything or not. "Nah, I'm not hungry," I lied. Truth was, I realized I hadn't brought any lunch money when I took a seat at their lunch table. "Are you sure? I have some apples if you want 'em," Olivia asked. "Um-sure." I took the Ziploc bag that had contained the apples and began eating them.

* * *

After lunch had finished, Peyton had caught up with me. "Piper, wait up!" I turned around and saw him practically running out of breath. "Why do you walk so fast?" I laughed at the sight of him trying to catch his breath from only walking a few steps. "Anyway, I'm having a party this weekend. I think you should come. It'll be great... you'll meet people and y'know, maybe even have some fun," he told me through short breaths. I thought about it long and hard. A party? With probably only 4 people there that I even know? Out of what? Like 30 people? Maybe I shouldn't, but then maybe I should. "I guess I could come..?" I shrugged and walked off. Now all I needed was a proper outfit for the party.


	2. the shocking truth

At the end of the day, I ran straight home to ask my mom for some money. I mean, it's not that I don't have any clothes, and it's not like the majority of my clothes consisted of overalls... I just didn't have anything that I would like to wear to Peyton's party. Mom told me she would drop me off at the mall cause it was either that or taking a cab, and I was in no position to be riding in a car with a strange person driving me somewhere.

Once I had arrived at the mall, I honestly had no clue of what to do next. Clothes, they were everywhere. I started looking around, in search of the perfect outfit. I didn't have that much money with me, so I had to find something cheap. Maybe a pair of jeans and a cute blouse would do. It took me about an hour and a half until I had found something cute since everything was pretty much expensive and a lot of the things that I had liked weren't in my size.

* * *

When I got home, I saw that Cameron was already home from soccer practice and was in the kitchen trying to find a snack to chew on.

"Hey, Cam."

"Hey, how was your day?"

"Eh, it was alright. And thanks for letting my mom and I stay with your family until we have enough money to get a place of our own."

"It's fine. We're practically family. I mean, what are friends for, am I right?"

I nodded and smiled at him.

"So, uh, did you make any friends today?"

"Um, yeah. This one guy named Peyton invited me to his party this weekend."

"Sounds fun. Wait-Peyton Clark?"

"Yeah, why..?"

"I'd steer clear of him. He's no good."

"How so?"

"Go to his party and find out."

I let out a small sigh. Great. Way to make me not even wanna go to this party anymore, Cameron.

* * *

It was finally the weekend and I checked the time. It was 9:30 and from what Cameron told me, no one ever shows up early to a party. If he hadn't told me, I would of probably been the idiot tonight who showed up at 7. I went over to my mirror and looked at myself. "This outfit should do, right? Eh, better than my stupid overalls." I was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a cute grey v-neck that I had found at some place called "The Gap". I slipped into my sandals since they were pretty much the only pair of footwear that I owned. "Piper! You ready to go?!" my mom shouted from downstairs. "Yeah, I'll be down in a minute!" I shouted back. I looked at myself one last time and made sure that my hair wasn't such a complete mess, and then I ran downstairs and headed for the party that's hosted by a person who's apparently "no good".

* * *

"What did I drag myself into..." I had thought to myself once I entered the home of Peyton Clark's. Drugs and alcohol, they were everywhere. I obviously wasn't going to be drinking any alcohol tonight because I intended on going home sober. I roamed around Peyton's house, trying to see if Austin, Sarah, or even Olivia were at his party. It didn't take me long until I realized they were all in the living room sitting on the couch.

"Piper! You made it!" Peyton had said to me, seemingly thrilled to see me.

One thing I didn't quite expect was to see Sarah cuddling with Peyton. Never knew they were together since it didn't even look like it at lunch.

"Y'all are a thing..?" I asked, just to make sure.

Sarah nodded.

I turned to see Austin drinking shots after shots of alcohol. I cringed at just the sight of it.

"Hey! You want any?" Austin asked, pointing at his tiny little glass of alcohol.

"Nah, it's fine."

20 minutes into the party and I was already bored out of my mind. Maybe I should have just listened to Cam and not even come to this stupid party. Everyone was either making out, drinking, or smoking a joint. I sighed to myself. Maybe I should just go home. I didn't belong here, at least not at this party.

"You're not having any fun, are you?"

I turned around to see that the familiar voice had belonged to Austin. I shook my head in response to his question.

"Hm, come with me." He grabbed my hand and dragged me outside to Peyton's backyard.

"Why'd you take me out here?"

"Lay down."

As we laid down on the grass, all we really did was look up and stare at the stars.

"Piper?"

I turned and faced him. "What..?"

"Is it bad that I may or may not feel a strange attraction towards you?"

I smirked. "No."

"Then, do you feel an attraction towards me?"

All I could do was stare at him. I couldn't even find an answer to a simple question. Did I find him attractive? I honestly had no clue. I've never really liked a guy in the past... there weren't many guys that I knew of from back home. The only guy I was ever even close with was Cameron, but I've never seen him as more than a friend.

"I don't know," I told him.

He let out a small laugh. "I'm not good with girls, I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "It's okay."

Suddenly, he turned and stared at me for the longest time. He began to slowly lean in and I could feel my heart racing and beating in my chest. I turned my face before he could even kiss me though. I didn't wanna lose my first kiss to him, at least not like this. Not when he's practically drunk as hell, and I'm the only one that's probably even sober at this party.

* * *

The next day at school was awkward. I tried my hardest to avoid Austin, in hope that he couldn't remember anything from last night. After class I saw the strangest thing. I spotted Olivia and Peyton on the staircase, practically flirting with each other wide in the open. If Peyton and Sarah were together, then why did his and Olivia's relationship appear to be like this? Things didn't quite add up.


	3. the reason

The day after I decided to confront Sarah. I wasn't sure if this was going to be the best idea or not, but it was worth a try.

I spotted her beside a vending machine, getting herself a bag of chips. I took a deep breath, then walked over to her.

"Hey, Sarah?"

She turned and looked at me. "Oh, hey."

"So, uh, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"You and Peyton are y'know, boyfriend and girlfriend..." She nodded. "So, do you know what's going on between him and Olivia?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Their relationship... it seems to be more than just friends."

No response. It seems as if she knew about it, but she just simply didn't want to talk about it. Why is that? She couldn't even look me in the eyes. She began to tense up and got even more awkward than usual.

I let out a small sigh and told her, "Look, it's fine. Don't worry about it. It was probably nothing."

She slowly nodded, then left.

I crossed my arms and stared at her as she was walking away. This was clearly none of my business, but this whole thing has got me curious.

* * *

During fourth period I decided to go to the restroom, only to see Sarah and Peyton bickering on the staircase. Would it be such a bad idea that I wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation? Eh, it was worth a shot. If they were to see me, I'd most likely try to come up with some lame excuse.

"Are you still seeing Olivia behind my back?!" Sarah shouted.

Peyton responded with the least bit of care, "Yeah, so what?!"

"Are you kidding me..? How could you cheat on me with my best friend?!"

I heard him scoff. "How in the world is she your best friend? If she was, she wouldn't be seeing me behind your back."

At this point, Sarah was about to break into tears. I sighed quietly to myself. What kind of messed up relationship was this? Their relationship's even more unhealthy than my parents' (who has already gotten a divorce).

I wanted to help Sarah. She didn't deserve to go through all this pain that Peyton had made her go through.

I was about to walk away, but then..

I heard a slap.

"Listen here, you little bitch. I can be with whoever the fuck I wanna be with. Who can stop me? Obviously not you. If the thought of our whole relationship being nothing but a joke hasn't drilled into your head yet, then.. I don't know what else to tell you." And with that, Peyton stomped off.

Cam was right. Peyton really was no good.

I decided to head back to class since the teacher was probably starting to wonder what was taking me so long.

* * *

Throughout the day, I decided to avoid all 4 of them; Austin, Sarah, Peyton, and even Olivia.

But to my dismay, Austin decided to approach me before lunch.

"We need to talk," he tells me.

"Okay, about what?"

"I know you may feel awkward around me now, and don't even try to lie about it because I've noticed you've been trying to avoid me..."

Crap. He noticed.

"Listen-don't feel awkward around me. I find you attractive, so what?"

"It's not that.. it's the fact that you tried to kiss me," I told him.

"Oh, right.. about that.. I was drunk and I wasn't thinking straight, I'm sorry."

"It's fine..."

Okay, things are officially awkward between us.

"Well, uh, I guess I'll see you later at lunch?"

I nodded. I just wanted things to go back to normal. Maybe if I hadn't confronted Sarah or go to Peyton's party, things wouldn't be like this.

* * *

Things weren't so bad once lunch started. Peyton was his usual self, Sarah didn't speak much.. Olivia was just sitting there eating her packed lunch, and Austin was trying his best to act casual. Everything was going fine until...

"Hey, you're Piper, right?" says a guy walking up to our lunch table.

I nodded my head.

"I'm Chad. I'm in your math class?"

I recognized him instantly. He's one of the jocks in our class and he seems to be loud and obnoxious.

"Well, I was wondering.. will you go out on a date with me?"

I didn't know what to say, I've never been on a date before. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay."

I look over at Austin and I see that he has a disgusted expression on his face. I shrugged it off and continued eating my lunch.

* * *

It got even more awkward after lunch.

Austin dragged me aside and I honestly didn't know how to react to anything.

"Don't," he tells me.

"Don't what?"

"Don't go out on a date with him."

"Why not?"

"Uh-I don't think you two would look good together. He just doesn't seem like your type."

"I didn't know I had a type," I said with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes and practically shouted, "Just don't date him!"

"I can date whoever I want, you can't stop me."

"But why him?!"

"Huh?"

"Out of all people... why Chad?"

"Austin, relax. I haven't even given him my answer to his request yet."

"So you're going to reject him?"

"I'm not sure yet. Austin, why do you even care?"

"Because I don't want you dating anyone!"

I was stunned. Why didn't he want me dating anyone? "Why not?" I asked him. "Why don't you want me dating anyone?"

"Are you that oblivious? Can't you see?! I'm interested in you!"

I was even more stunned. "Why? You barely even know me."

"So? I like you because you're you, just you. Could there have been another reason? I wish I knew.. because getting over you would be awesome." And with that, he walked off.

* * *

Austin North, a sophomore that I had met just this year, happens to be interested in me... if only he wasn't.


End file.
